This invention relates to arrangements for balancing varying moments and vibrations in motor vehicle drive trains.
German Offenlegungsschrift No. 37 20 559 discloses a reciprocating-piston crankshaft engine in which, in order to balance varying moments about the longitudinal axis of the crankshaft of an internal-combustion engine which are generated by acceleration of inertia forces, the crankshaft is connected on its output side to planet gear carriers supporting planet gears which engage internal teeth in a housing. When the crankshaft is rotated, the planet gears forming the balancing mass for the varying moments occurring in the internal-combustion engine rotate in a direction which is opposite to the crankshaft rotation and at the same rotational speed as the crankshaft rotation. The necessary balancing of varying moments in the internal-combustion engine can thus be accomplished advantageously without requiring an additional balancing shaft.
Moreover, German Offenlegungsschrift No. 38 16 902 discloses a so-called dual-mass flywheel used for the damping of vibrations in the drive train of a motor vehicle. This dual-mass flywheel is arranged in a conventional manner between the crankshaft of the internal-combustion engine and a transmission. In this arrangement, a first flywheel mass of the dual-mass flywheel is affixed to the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine and a second flywheel mass is connectable to the input shaft of the transmission by a clutch which is preferably a friction clutch. A spring damping device is connected between the two flywheel masses in such a way that relative angular motion between these two parts of the dual-mass flywheel is possible.